Cultists on rampage in UniAbuja, kill 1, injure 2 others

A 200 level student of the Department of Sociology of University of Abuja, Emos Japhet, has been shot dead by a suspected cult member. A student of the university, who sought anonymity, said the incident happened yesterday at about 11:45am at the university’s mini campus in Gwagwalada. He said the deceased, who lived at the […]

A 200 level student of the Department of Sociology of University of Abuja, Emos Japhet, has been shot dead by a suspected cult member. A student of the university, who sought anonymity, said the incident happened yesterday at about 11:45am at the university’s mini campus in Gwagwalada.

He said the deceased, who lived at the mini campus hostel, was gunned down in the bathroom while taking his bath.

“I was with three of my roommates inside the hostel chatting when Japheth went to the bathroom. Few minutes later we heard the sound of gunshot and we all scampered out of the hostel,” he said.

He said upon returning to the hostel, one of them now went to check the bathroom and discovered Japheth lying in pool of blood inside.

The student said they immediately alerted the porter in charge of the hostel who came with his motorcycle to convey the deceased to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in company of another student. He said doctors at the emergency unit of the hospital later confirmed him dead. Another student of the university at the mini campus, who identified himself as Gideon, said two students of the university were injured after they were attacked with machete in broad day light by suspected cult members at the mini campus football pitch last Friday.

He said the two injured students were taken to the university’s hospital for treatment. He also decried activities of alleged cult members who attack their unsuspecting victims at the open theatre behind the institution’s back fence.

“The university’s open theatre has become a danger zone, as some students use the place to take all kinds of hard drugs. In fact, the moment it is 5 to 6 pm, passing through there becomes dangerous as phones are snatched  from people on daily basis,” he said, adding that there is little or no presence of security operatives in the area.

When contacted, the information officer of the university, Malam Waziri Garba, confirmed the incident. He attributed it to cult-related attacks, saying the matter had been handed over to the police for investigation. The spokesman of the FCT police command, DSP Anjuguri Manza, however did not pick several calls put across to him phone.